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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26263804">he got mad (so I got drinks)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mchaha/pseuds/mchaha'>mchaha</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, College, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Minor Original Character(s), Reconciliation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:40:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,729</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26263804</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mchaha/pseuds/mchaha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sterling couldn’t help the blush that warmed her cheeks. Damn lowered inhibitions due to alcohol consumption. “Thanks. I’m sorry, I’m literally just so shocked that you’re standing here in front of me."</p><p>// Sterling Wesley runs into April Stevens four years later, in the last place she would have imagined</p><p>Fake Dating/College AU one-shot</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>April Stevens/Sterling Wesley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>363</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>he got mad (so I got drinks)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The dim light of the bar cast a pattern of shadows across Sterling Wesley’s face, forcing the blonde to squint into the darkness up at the cocktail menu hung high above the liquor shelves. She was no stranger to dark bars on Saturday nights, but this one seemed to enjoy forcing its patrons to straining their eyes to see clearly.</p><p>It was the middle of September, just after classes had begun at UCLA, and she had been dragged out bar-hopping with her roommates. She was three years into college, and this year had already been chock full of 21st birthday celebration, each a different version of the same story: girls meet up at one apartment, girls drink cheap booze in said apartment, then girls venture out to some corner of Los Angeles to find more, expensive booze and hopefully, a dance floor. Sterling herself had celebrated the big two-one over the summer with Blair, her “cowin” (pronounced, Quinn), as they dubbed themselves shortly after the entire kidnapping debacle. (By happenstance, they did actually share the same birthday, so not much had changed, besides you know, the existential crises.) More often than not, they still considered each other a sister, not bothering to detail the entire story to everyone they met.</p><p>They’d hit the town in Atlanta and did the same song and dance she was doing tonight, thousands of miles away. Blair had also ventured to LA for college, though her sister had been taken with Pepperdine, and preferred to stay closer to the coast than Sterling cared to. They’d opted to not live together, citing traffic as a deciding factor not to find a place halfway between each campus, but the pair had a standing Tuesday night dinner date and were often found at each other’s apartments on the weekends. It was nice having Blair in the same time zone rather than across the entire country.</p><p>Finally getting the attention of the bartender from down the way, Sterling ordered the typical vodka soda when she felt pressure on her shoulder.</p><p>“Come here often?”</p><p>Rolling her eyes, she turned to face the man who felt entitled enough to put his hand on her, even for a little while.</p><p>“Likely won’t be coming back actually.” He wasn’t horrible looking, and some might even call him boyishly charming. She was 100% uninterested though, having gotten her fill of dopey, charming guys from her ill-fated relationship with Luke.</p><p>He smirked in the way that told her he thought he had her all figured out. “Aww, now don’t say that. This place was in desperate need of a breath of fresh air like yourself.”</p><p>Sterling looked past his shoulder, trying to make eye contact with one of her roommates, Sam, who was slinking her way through the crowd towards the table they’d claimed in the corner. The other girl was paying more attention trying to not spill her own drink and was oblivious to the blonde’s pleading gaze.</p><p>She sighed and met the man’s gaze. “Look buddy, I’m just here for girl’s night and to celebrate the birth of one of my dear friends. Can you kindly move on and we can both enjoy the rest of our evenings?” Where was the bartender with her drink, it couldn’t have been that difficult to mix vodka with club soda?</p><p>Unphased, the man smiled at her, eyebrows knitting together like she was a new puzzle he was trying to solve. Since high school and especially since moving to the west coast, Sterling had settled into her sexuality and explored relationships with both men and women. So it wasn’t that this guy wasn’t conventionally attractive in her eyes, he just reminded her too much of Luke to even want to entertain the idea.</p><p>“Let me at least buy you your drink.” His hand moved as if in slow motion to grab her elbow and if it wasn’t for another stranger pushing up against her back she seriously would have considered socking him in the stomach for not taking a hint. As it were, though, a second body sidled up to the bar behind her, causing the hairs on the back of her hair to stand and her back to tense. A waft of sweet, vaguely familiar, perfume followed, settling into her bubble along with this new stranger.</p><p>“She said she wasn’t interested pal. Now please remove your fingers from my girlfriend’s body before I show you what nine years of self-defense classes will teach a girl.”</p><p>Sterling would know that voice even in the most crowded of bars. It had been almost four years since it had tickled her ears, and never in a million years did she anticipate it ringing out in a city across the country from where she last encountered it. Part of her didn’t want to turn around for fear that her mind was playing tricks on her.</p><p>The guy’s eyebrows raised, clearly taken aback by the new turn of events. “Oh. Consider the message received,” he lifted his glass in acknowledgment, “Drink’s still on me, you ladies have a nice night.” If the leer on his face hadn't given away his inner thoughts, Sterling almost would have considered her opinion on the oaf changed. Reaching for her drink which had finally appeared, and was pleasantly free, she braced herself before facing her new companion.</p><p>“April Stevens,” she took a healthy sip from her glass, “Never thought you’d step foot into a state this liberal.”</p><p>The shorter girl (because she was still shorter than Sterling, even wearing a heel that made her legs look divine) gave her a half-smile and rolled her eyes playfully. “Yeah well, I never expected to find you sipping on vodka sodas at a dive bar in Venice. You always seemed to be a whiskey girl in my books.”</p><p>The last time she’d seen April had been at graduation from Willingham. After she’d found out the truth about her father’s shady past, and the only slightly less shady circumstances leading to his arrest, their short-lived relationship had been deemed irreparable. (Which was very much a one-sided opinion.) Sterling had respected April’s decision but had spent the rest of Senior year mooning from afar, trying her best to remain a presence in the shorter girl’s life without being a burden or an unwanted reminder of her shitshow of a life. Not that Sterling’s own shitshow of a life had fared any better.</p><p>By the time graduation had rolled around, the pair had fizzled out into an amicable, acquaintanceship. They didn’t speak outside of the halls of Willingham, but their interactions on school grounds were cordial. Never one for social media, April had disappeared from Sterling’s awareness, except for the biannual Instagram posts that served as proof of life rather than her past self’s incessant need to document every good deed she’d performed. The last she’d heard, April had moved to Texas, studying political science in Austin. So how had she ended up in this bar, in Venice Beach, California?</p><p>“It’s good to see you Sterl,” the timid voice tore her from her trip down memory lane. “You look good.”</p><p>Sterling couldn’t help the blush that warmed her cheeks. Damn lowered inhibitions due to alcohol consumption. “Thanks. I’m sorry, I’m literally just so shocked that you’re standing here in front of me. Halfway across the country from where you live in my mind.”</p><p>April’s eyebrows raised, and the smirk returned to her face. “I was out here interning over the summer and fell in love with the city. I transferred to USC this semester, I got dragged all the way over here tonight with my roommate to meet her boyfriend who’s a student at UCLA, and then promptly ditched, as usual. And sorry to barge in on your conversation by the way. You had that look on your face like the one time Hannah B was trying to explain the last episode of Riverdale to you and you wanted to kill yourself so I stepped in.”</p><p>“Do you do that for all the girls you meet in bars?”</p><p>“Hmm, just the ones who look like they’re about to counter-debate everything that’s being said to them. ”</p><p>Sterling couldn’t help the grin that spread across her features and pulled another sip from her glass in an effort to hide it. “Can I buy you a drink as a thank you? Turns out I didn’t have to pay for this one and it looks like I need to catch up to my friends over there,” she gestured across the room to the gaggle of girls dancing in the corner.</p><p>She reached into her clutch for her card, intending to pull it out and place it on the bartop. A hand landing on her forearm halted her mid-air. “Don’t worry about it, it was the least I could do after everything.” Sterling’s burned where the palm met her skin.</p><p>Not wanting to dredge up the past, especially in the middle of a bar on a Friday night in LA, Sterling navigated the conversation away. “Well at least come meet my friends, they’re a much better time than being the third wheel for some heterosexual “long-distance” nerds.”<br/>
April pretended to take offense, but let Sterling nudge her towards the party her group of friends had created for themselves. Sterling introduced her to the girls as a friend from back home that she’d randomly run into, then pulled over two hightop chairs for them to sit on.</p><p>“So USC, huh? What made you pick up and move all the way over here?” She watches as her companion grabs an empty beer bottle from in front of them and starts playing with the label that’s already peeling off.</p><p>“Like I said, I was working out here last summer, interning for the nonprofit my cousin works for and I just felt so at peace in this city. There’s just this feeling that anything can happen here, like everyone is striving to live their best life and to just make art. And you never know who you’ll be sitting next to in traffic or who’ll be in front of you in line for takeout, or who will need rescuing from some creep at a bar for that matter. The possibilities seem endless here. And it’s almost as far away from home as I can get, so that didn’t hurt either.”</p><p>The beer label sits in front of her, sufficiently peeled from it’s home. She’s still fidgeting with her fingers, and Sterling is struck by how different April seems to present herself these days. She looks fantastic, there’s no doubt about that. Sterling takes a moment to really take the other girl in. She’s wearing a short black dress, sleeveless, showing off both her amazing arms and toned legs. The heels she had on made her a little taller than usual, though still shorter than Sterling in her own booties, and accentuated her muscles in her calves. </p><p>She seemed a little less sure of herself than she had in the halls of Willingham, but Sterling could relate. For as inclusive and welcoming Los Angeles tended to be, it was still a city that could eat you up and spit you out if you weren’t careful.</p><p>April flicked her hand through her hair, pushing it back where it had fallen across her face, and for a moment Sterling was transported to the last real conversation they had had, sitting on the dock at the Steven’s lake house, April fuming with anger at the Wesley twins, and even more so, feeling betrayed that Sterling hadn’t told her the truth.</p><p>Her thoughts were interrupted by a new person approaching their table. Assuming it to be one of her friends, she paid them no mind until a distinctly non-female voice spoke.</p><p>“Ladies, how are you two doing this fine evening?” A new guy had approached them, though Sterling had already seen him lingering across the room with a group of guys that included her original irritator. </p><p>She felt a hand slip over her thigh and shivered at the sensation. April spoke first.</p><p>“We’re enjoying each other’s company.”</p><p>“Well my buddy over there was hoping to talk to your friend here some more,” he tilted his head in Sterling’s direction, “but seemed to have the impression that she was a kept woman. It doesn’t seem to be the case from what we’ve overseen.”</p><p>Even more annoyed with this fucker, Sterling was coiled and ready to tear this new guy to shreds when April beat her to the punch again.</p><p>“Okay buddy look, if your idea of being in a relationship with a woman is to “keep” her, then it’s no wonder that you or your friend don’t have a girlfriend. Also, I’m not sure what prompted you to feel entitled to come over here again, even though we already told your friend to kindly leave us alone. And lastly, our relationship isn’t for you to judge and you have no right to decide on what is or isn’t an appropriate way for us to behave with each other.”</p><p>By now, Sam and the rest of Sterling’s group had turned their attention to the scene unfolding behind them, and April’s roommate had untangled herself from her boyfriend in the other corner, and the pair had made their way over to the commotion. Said boyfriend (she’d later learn his name was Evan) made the move to step in front of the newcomer in defense of both April and Sterling, but April had stood from their chairs, ready to continue her rant.</p><p>“And you know what? Honestly, even if she was single she deserves way more than two entitled man-boys who probably think climate change is fake and that their daddy’s money can buy them a girlfriend. She deserves someone who is kind, and attentive and isn’t afraid to be with her for who she is, and someone who is willing to actually listen to her opinions without steamrolling over them.”</p><p>She deflated, and smoothed down her dress, coming down from the high of debating her point.<br/>
In her deceptively calm April voice, she continued, “So I’ll ask you one more time, nicely, to fuck off.” </p><p>Spinning around, making eye contact with Sterling, and lifting herself back onto her high-top stool, April stole the glass that Sterling was still nursing and took a nice swig.</p><p>Overcome with emotion, specifically which ones, she wasn’t sure, Sterling couldn’t help but fixate on the point where the glass met April’s lips, and the way her mouth parted to wrap around the small stirring straw bobbing up and down in the liquid. She didn’t realize it until her nose was nudging April’s, a split second before their lips met, that she was going to kiss the other girl. Her sudden motion forward had caused her to lose her balance, and she only caught herself with a hand on the other girl’s thigh.</p><p>For a moment, it was just the two of them. The universe seemed to flatten out, and she was both existing in that instance and the one in the back of her and Blair’s car, making out with April as juniors in high school instead of running around like a hooligan with her sister. April’s lips felt the same, and it was almost like muscle memory the way they moved in tandem, parting and pulling in a way only comfort could permit.</p><p>Vaguely aware of their group of mingled friends blocking them off from the source of their irritation, Sterling pulled back slightly, pressing her forehead against April’s and watching as the smaller girl’s eyes blinked back open. The surprise on her face was evident, and mixed with her flushed cheeks, she looked absolutely entrancing. Sterling left her hand settled on April’s thigh, slowly stroking the skin right where the dress ended. April squirmed a little under her touch.</p><p>Brushing their noses together Sterling was the first to break their silence in the crowded bar. “I should say thank you for defending my honor and pretending to be my fake girlfriend, but I really just want to say thank you for becoming a far better kisser since the last time I had the pleasure.”</p><p>April’s eyes lit up with mirth, and she chuckled, burying her face into Sterling’s shoulder. “You should know by now Sterling Wesley, I’ve always got you.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I loved this show far more than I thought I would and I just want everybody to watch these idiot characters so we can have more seasons of utter nonsense that's actually really really great!!</p><p>hmu on tumblr</p></blockquote></div></div>
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